Dreams and Revelations
by chocolatequeen
Summary: End of the Dreams sequence, sequel to Christmas Dreaming
1. Default Chapter

Title: Dreams and Resolutions Genre: Flangst (fluffy angst) Disclaimer: I don't own the show, etc. Author's Note: I'm sorry I didn't get this out earlier, this has been a crazy week... :wacko: Hopefully it'll be done in short order though, so it still feels like we're in the season.  
  
Prologue: That's What I Want for Christmas  
  
"Why would someone make a collection of depressing Christmas songs?" Sydney muttered as the final strains of "Blue Christmas" faded away, leading into the next song. "And why would I be listening to it?" she added, burying her face into a throw pillow.  
  
The harsh ring of the phone jarred her from her melancholy thoughts. "Go away," she mumbled. "I don't want to talk to anyone right now."  
  
All thoughts of ignoring the call disappeared though when a familiar voice came over the answering machine. "Syd? Are you there?" Vaughn asked. "If you're there, please pick up, I need to talk to you." He waited for a moment then said, "Okay, I guess you're out. Well..."  
  
"Wait! Vaughn don't hang up!" she pled as she grabbed the phone from the cradle. "Vaughn! Are you still there?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm still here. Why didn't you pick up earlier?"  
  
"Well..." she said, twisting the phone cord around her finger.  
  
"You wanted to be left alone," he surmised, kicking himself for calling her on Christmas Eve. Of course she wanted to be alone, he should have known that. But after he'd read Lauren's letter, all he could think about was Syd. He didn't want to waste anymore time.  
  
"Kind of," she replied, hoping he wouldn't feel bad for calling.  
  
"I could call back later," he said hesitantly.  
  
"No! I really just didn't want a sympathy call from my dad," she admitted.  
  
"I wasn't aware Jack Bristow gave sympathy calls," he said, a grin crossing his face.  
  
"He does sometimes," Syd said, rolling her eyes. "So what's up Vaughn? You sound... different. Is something wrong?"  
  
"No, I don't think I'd say something's wrong, but something is definitely different," he said, repressed excitement and nervousness evident in his voice.  
  
"What is it?" she asked, her brow wrinkling in curiosity and confusion.  
  
"Ah... actually, I'm not sure I want to do this over the phone," he told her. "Do you have plans for tomorrow?"  
  
"Vaughn, tomorrow is Christmas Day," she reminded him.  
  
"You have plans then?" he asked, disappointed.  
  
"No, but I'd think you would, or at least your wife would," she pointed out, not trying to hide the grimace that crossed her face when she thought of Lauren. That's the great thing about phone calls, no one can tell what kind of faces you're making.  
  
"Let me worry about my wife," he said enigmatically. "I'll be over in the morning with breakfast and we can talk."  
  
"Any clue as to what this is about?"  
  
"Nope," he said smugly. "You'll just have to wait until morning."  
  
"Fine," she sighed. "I guess I'd better get to bed then, my dad always said that Christmas comes faster if you sleep."  
  
"Good night Syd, I'll see you in the morning," he said, laughing as he hung up the phone.  
  
"In the morning," Sydney murmured as she set the phone back on the cradle, listening once more to the music that was still playing faintly.  
  
"When you come home at night  
  
Take me in your arms and hold me  
  
Kiss me, and say you love me, love me, oh love me  
  
That's what I want for Christmas  
  
That's what I want for Christmas." 


	2. 2

Chapter 1: Maybe I'm Crazy to Suppose  
  
It was 7:00 AM on Christmas morning. Most single adults would still be in bed, no longer driven by childhood eagerness to open their presents, nor having children to wake them up at 4:00. However, Sydney Bristow was not most single adults. Her life had always been unique in many ways and as one more proof of that fact, she was awake and pacing her kitchen floor.  
  
"Why is he coming?" she muttered to herself. "Why did I say yes? Nothing he has to say can change the facts, it will only hurt to see him now. I should call him and tell him not to come," she decided, picking up the phone and dialing his cell.  
  
A second later she heard a ring outside her front door, followed by a knock. Resigning herself to breakfast, she hit the off button on the phone and opened the door. "Good morning Vaughn."  
  
"Good morning? Try Merry Christmas Sydney, I think that's the traditional greeting for today," Vaughn said teasingly.  
  
"Merry Christmas Vaughn," she said, smiling involuntarily. "Here, let me take the pastries," she added, grabbing the bag from his hands so he was free to carry the coffee.  
  
"You would not believe how busy Starbucks was at 6:30 on Christmas morning," he commented as he moved into the kitchen and set the coffee down on the next to the microwave.  
  
"6:30? Vaughn, did you sneak out of your house on Christmas morning to come over here?" Syd asked, troubled by the thought.  
  
"There was no sneaking involved Syd," he assured her, handing her coffee over and leaning against the counter.  
  
"Is Lauren awake?" she questioned.  
  
"I don't know if she's awake, but it's safe to say she knows I'm here, if that's what you're asking," he said, enjoying the look of complete confusion on her face.  
  
Noticing the smile creeping across his face, Syd said, "Ok, what aren't you telling me? Is Lauren..."  
  
"Gone," he interrupted. "She's gone."  
  
Hope flared briefly in her eyes but she tamped it down quickly. "But she'll be back Vaughn," she said quietly, turning away from him. "She's on a trip and this seems so easy, but she'll be back," she repeated.  
  
"Syd," Vaughn started, but she ignored him.  
  
"She'll be back, and you'll regret this. You'll hate me, and I couldn't handle that. Please... just go Vaughn," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.  
  
"How could she even think I would do that?" he asked himself, hurt by the accusation implicit in her words. Fueled by hurt, he said sharply, "Sydney!" He waited impatiently for as she slowly turned to face him, ready to pelt her with a thousand questions, but it only took one look into her eyes for all his recriminations to die on his tongue. Where he had expected to see disbelief or disdain, there was only despair. "She doesn't have any hope left for us," he realized.  
  
In three quick steps he was standing in front of her, gently brushing her hair out of her face. "Syd, do you really think I came over here to ask you to be my mistress?" She opened her mouth but he placed a finger on her lips to quiet her before explaining. "Lauren left me... she's not coming back."  
  
"Lauren left you?" Sydney parroted, the words not sinking in until she said them herself. "Wait, Lauren left you?" she asked incredulously. "Does she have rocks in her head?"  
  
"No," Vaughn replied with a smile. "She just knew that I'll never love her as much as..."  
  
Syd quickly clapped her hand over his mouth, preventing him from finishing the sentence. "Don't Vaughn, don't say it," she ordered.  
  
"Why not?" he asked, confused and hurt. "I thought you... felt the same way," he said awkwardly, avoiding the words she didn't want to hear from him.  
  
"I do," she said seriously.  
  
"Then why can't I say it? I've wanted to for so long..."  
  
"Because... because I can't believe this is happening," she admitted. "For eight months this dream has been dead, and now that it's suddenly come true I can't... it just doesn't seem real."  
  
"I know what you mean," he told her. "I'd just relegated any thought of us... am I allowed to say that?" he asked uncertainly, breathing a sigh of relief when she smiled and nodded. "All thoughts of us were forced to stay in dreams, and now that it's possible it feels..."  
  
"Surreal?" she provided.  
  
"Exactly," he concurred. "So what do you propose we do to make it real?"  
  
"Let's take it slow, just give ourselves time to get used to the idea," she suggested.  
  
"Okay," he agreed, then hesitated for a minute. "I have something to ask you, but I don't know... maybe it's too early..."  
  
"Vaughn, just ask," she said with a laugh.  
  
"What are you doing New Year's Eve?" 


	3. 3

Chapter 2: Wake Unto Me  
  
Cold winter sunlight seeped through the blinds on the bedroom windows, slowly pulling the room's occupant back to wakefulness. "Hm, it's New Year's Eve," Syd said sleepily, pulling the covers back over her head. "I need to sleep in so I can stay up."  
  
A second later, those same covers were tossed onto the floor. "New Year's Eve!!" she exclaimed, sitting upright in bed. "Vaughn's coming over for dinner tonight! I've got to get up, I've got to get ready, I've got to... Wait... it is real, isn't it? It doesn't feel like it's a dream this morning, but maybe it is."  
  
But before she had time to get worked up, the phone rang, answering all her questions. A wide grin crossed her face as she threw herself across the bed to reach the handset. "Good morning Vaughn!"  
  
"How's my beautiful dreamer today?" he asked, just as he had every morning this week.  
  
"Fully aware that she's not dreaming," she answered, her smile growing even bigger. "And I wasn't dreaming yesterday when we went to the park, or the day before when you brought me flowers, or the day before that when we just sat at home and watched a movie."  
  
"And just like dinner tonight at your place will be real," he added.  
  
"Speaking of which, I supposed I should start getting ready," she said, reluctant to hang up.  
  
"I'll let you go then, but I'll see you at 7:00," he promised.  
  
"See you at 7:00," she echoed, staying on the line until he hung up.  
  
Syd turned the phone off and laid back on the bed, her eyes closed as a smile spread across her face. Vaughn had given her a wake up call every morning this week, starting on the 27th. "That was a surprise," she mused as she rose from the bed and grabbed her robe.  
  
She was still thinking about the week, especially her morning calls, when she stepped into the shower a few minutes later. "I was so afraid when I woke up on the 26th that it had all been a dream, and that I'd get up to find Lauren still here and Vaughn still married..." she said, unable to suppress a shudder as she remembered the rest of that day.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Vaughn?" she said, staring at him as he stood in her doorway. "You're really here, right? This isn't a dream?"  
  
"I'm really here," he promised, letting her reach out to make sure with her own hands.  
  
Once she made contact with his solid chest, she threw herself into his arms. "I was so afraid! I woke up and I couldn't remember if it was a dream or not... I've had so many dreams about you coming back to me and I didn't know if it had all been another one," she choked out."  
  
"Oh Syd," he whispered, holding her close until she calmed down. "Now listen to me," he said firmly a few minutes later as she took a step back. "I'm here and I will always be here, so the faster you get used to that idea, the faster we can get on with the rest of our lives."  
  
"That sounds really good," she said shakily. "So... would you like some coffee?" she offered, trying to cover up her emotions.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"But he always did know me too well," she muttered as she rinsed the shampoo from her hair. "He could tell I was still afraid he would disappear... the next morning, the calls started."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Who are you and why are you calling me so early?" she half muttered, half yelled into the receiver.  
  
"This is your wake up call, beautiful dreamer," a familiar voice said.  
  
"Vaughn? Is that you?" she asked, furrowing her brow in confusion. "Why are you calling me?"  
  
"So you know that yesterday we really did make cookies together, and remember that today we're going to go to Blockbuster and take the whole store home with us."  
  
"You called so I wouldn't freak out like I did yesterday?" she asked, overwhelmed.  
  
"I told you I'd always be here, I just figured now was as good a time to prove it as any," he answered nonchalantly.  
  
"Vaughn... you're buying the popcorn," she said with a smile before hanging up.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"But today, today I finally didn't need him to call to know it was real," she realized as she stepped out of the shower, wrapping her towel around herself and reaching for her brush. "Today, even though it still felt too good to be true, I knew it wasn't just a dream."  
  
She watched her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her hair. It was a face she'd known all her life, and yet there were still surprises there. She hadn't really thought she could ever fully accept that Vaughn was hers again, but apparently the recuperative powers of... "of love," she whispered... apparently they were stronger than she'd thought. 


End file.
